More Edgar Allan Poe for my collection

I really need to go back and document my growing collection of Edgar Allan Poe things. I love my collection! Here are my latest finds.



This book by Michael Deas is very hard to find. It is out of print, so I had to find it used. It is so useful for the Poe researcher because it includes every known portrait and photograph of Poe along with all the historical information related to the photo. And because Mr. Deas is so knowledgeable about Poe and because he is a great artist - he actually did the new Poe Stamp. And I actually have a signed first day cover from Michael Deas! YEAH!

And how about this great necklace I had made! It says: Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared dream before. The artist Spoonerz is on Etsy - a great place to find and support artists! She makes all kinds of jewelry from spoons and forks. My necklace is actually fork tines!



And from another Etsy artist - Sammo. These are great lunch bags, although I am not sure I will actually use (waste) them on a lunch. They are too good for that!


And a great deal on Ebay was this set of books that although published in 1933 - they are in brand new condition - never removed from the box or read!


Here is original box that they were shipped in. It looks like it cost a total of 13 1/2 cents to mail!

The side of the box - the corner looks a little worn, but inside, the books were perfect.

Inside, each book still had the celephane like wrapper around each on. The patina of these is awesome.

That wrapper protected the books and they are like new! What a deal!

Make It Your Own - Crusade No 31!

Michelle Ward has another great Street Team challenge to inspire us all. "Make it your own" - it defines what differentiates craft and art. Art is putting yourself, your ideas, your spirit into your creations. Be inspired by other artists, but make it your own!

Back in May, I went to the Art and Soul Retreat in Virginia. It was my first major retreat and I will be back for many more....

I took the basic soldering class from Sally Jean - Soldering for Virgins. Then for two days, I took the Totally Tiara class. Here is what I started with:

Then I wrapped all my pieces in copper tape:

And here is how I made some glass, a frozen Charlotte, and some soldering My Own:

All I needed to learn was how to solder, then I ran away with my fav colors (black and red) and all kinds of "Mia" things - old papers, buttons, pictures, feathers, stamps, cards, Poe, words, crystals, bottles, leaves, milagros, and anything else my studio stash gave me.

Johnny Depp!

Just saw these cool pictures of the new "Alice in Wonderland" with my fav - Johnny Depp. These is going to be good movie! Just the special effects will be awesome. Of course, I have John Dillinger to see next weekend.

True Blood on HBO

Sad Somerset

Several years ago, I wondered into a Scrap book store. Although I don't "do" scrapbooks, I always liked these stores because of the pretty papers and rubber stamps. Anyway, I was in this store looking around and picked up an issue of Somerset Studio. I was shocked! Here was a magazine dedicated to the art of collage/assemblage - something I had been creating for many years. I have been collecting old letters, stamps, ribbons, jewelry, buttons, doll parts - you name it - for a long time and using them in my art. I had no idea there was a whole magazine about this art form. But here it was - Somerset Studio. Now this was probably back in the 1990's sometime. From that day forward, I was hooked. I bought every issue, waiting for the 15th of every other month for the bookstores to get the next issue. I even ordered the back issues - to make sure I hadn't missed anything. The magazine introduced me to artists such as Nina Bagley, Michelle Ward, Teesha Moore, Claudine Hellmuth, and many others. Eventually, I sent in my own art work and was published several times.

But sadly, the last issue was one I didn't buy. I picked it up at Art and Soul and leafed through it. There really wasn't anything this month that I was interested in. Then, when I returned home, I looked again at the bookstores and still didn't feel the excitement that I would have when a new issue came out. I can't explain it, but I just felt this sad feeling come over me. Maybe I have moved on to another place and Somerset Studio will no longer be there for me as inspiration.

Oh well, hopefully it was just an off month. Maybe June 15th, I will walk into Barnes and Noble and there will be the July/August issue chock-a-block full of great stuff.

Find a Grave

I was reading up on Ayn Rand because I am starting "Atlas Shrugged" and at the very bottom of Wikipedia, there is a link to FindAGrave.com. I have noticed this before for other Wikipedia articles, so I went to see her grave. Once I was in there, I realized that it was not just famous people, but all kinds of graves.

So I entered my brother, who died in 1979 and is bured in Biloxi, Mississippi. And there is was - someone I don't even know has taken a picture of his gravestone and posted it. How cool! So here is my brother - Michael Johnson. He died in 1979 in a motorcycle accident.

My grandparents are also buried in the same cemetery and again, someone has taken their picture. Here is Grandpa and Grandma Cole.

Memorial Day 2009

I love 3 day weekends. American flag flying out front and just taking it easy.

I found these great rubber stamps from RubberSoul. I already have the poster and now I can stamp this on all kinds of things! "Keep calm and carry on" has become my mantra lately...

The history of these British posters can be found here.


I found this book at the bookstore and even though it looked kind of "cutsie" I am glad I looked inside. I am a journal drop out! I can't seem to find my style for journaling. I like just straight journal entries like Sylvia Plath, colorful writing like Frida Kahlo, and Teesha Moore's unique style. I somehow want to combine all three types, not three sets of journals. This book has lots of different ways to journal and reminds me a lot of Teesha.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

I found this book at Barnes and Noble, over by the young adult section (I was looking for any new Twilight type books). This is such a cool cover! And it combines both literature and goth! Instead of that most famous first sentence that all Jane Austen fans know, this one starts...

"Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" - Chapter One

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.

So true, so true!

Book review to come shortly...